Are higher positions on the violin usually preferable on the G and E strings?

Question

I find that its easier to avoid hitting adjacent strings when playing on the G and E strings, because the hand has more room to maneuver.

Also, playing at higher positions depresses the strings significantly. Since that is the case, it makes playing higher positions on the D and A strings frustrating, because you easily ends up playing chords instead of single notes.

Is there preference for playing high positions on G and E? (and, but not to distract from the main question) chords on the D and A strings?

Answer 1

You have an interesting point. I haven't noticed anything like a "preference" to to not use the middle strings for high shifting before, but I have noticed a few things:

• Shifting on the E string can actually produce notes that can't be reached on any other string, so one for the E string! In order to tap into the violin's ability to hit super high notes (ignoring harmonics) you need to use the E string.

• The G string, being thicker, offers slightly warmer tones than its neighbor, so it is often preferable, especially in a solo, to shift up on the G string than to use the lower D string.

• Most of the time, shifting is done to avoid too much string-crossing and make the fingering slightly more realistic (physically possible?) So you probably won't find yourself shifting very high on the middle strings that often unless you're playing a piece that has a super duper high note on, say, the E string, and then requires a slightly lower note (that can be played on the A string without changing position, or by only changing it slightly) leading to a totally wack string crossing over to the lower G string. Which would be almost impossible to play fast with any other method.

So... Sort of? Maybe not intentionally, but there are a few factors that would cause that to happen naturally.